Business

Reader's Digest cuts an additional 30 jobs in Greendale

Reader's Digest Association Inc. is eliminating another 30 jobs in Greendale, a company spokesman said.

The latest reductions will leave the firm with about 250 employees at the former Reiman Publications operation. When Reader's Digest bought Reiman in 2002, Reiman employed more than 500 people, most of them in Greendale.

The staff cuts made this week are "in different departments," Gary Davis, a spokesman for New York-based Reader's Digest, said via email. He would not specify the areas affected.

In November, the company said it would cut 14 jobs in Greendale over the next few months as it shuts down a group tour business acquired with the Reiman purchase.

Reader's Digest sought bankruptcy protection in August 2009 amid falling print circulation and looming debt payments. The firm emerged from Chapter 11 the following February, with lenders forgiving some $1.6 billion in debt in exchange for ownership of the company.

Through nine months this year, Reader's Digest has lost $399 million.

Davis said the organizational changes in Greendale are part of the company's strategy of focusing on "master brands" it believes have the strongest growth potential.

Among those, he said, are the namesake magazine, Taste of Home - one of the most popular former Reiman titles - and The Family Handyman, which has offices in Greendale and in Minnesota.